Four Seasons
by Montley
Summary: Strange to think back of a story of a boy and a girl who never quite knew each other before You-Know-Who's reign, and meeting for the first time on a train during the end of Summer.


Four Seasons

By Montley

* * *

_"Drink the poison lightly_

_'Cause there are deeper and darker things than you_

_I know, 'cause I've been there too."_

_- I'm Not The One, 3oh!3_

* * *

_Summer_

Luna waved one last time at her trembling father, who was wearing his bright, violet robes before boarding the Hogwarts Express, which used to be a sign of happiness and light, but now it was simply darkness that awaited her. She knew that her father never wished to send her into the place of damnation, but he, and the others like him, had no other choice. With a sad smile, she hopped on the train with her luggage in hand.

She dragged it down the corridor of the train; the others strolling into their compartments were silent and lifeless. She could barely even recognize the faces around her as their expressions were hollow, and dozens were missing, the muggle-borns. But the sad smile remained on her face as she trudged along proudly, her blonde hair and her bouncing radish earrings signaling her presence in the train. She eventually chose an empty compartment and took a deep breath before sliding open the door.

"What are you smiling about?" a voice questioned, and she turned her head around and saw a boy she knew as Crabbe.

"Life, you see, I'm happy that there's still a little light," she answered with a smile, feeling a surge a courage coursing through her veins. The bulky boy pushed her against the door and leaned closer to her. Instead of cowering she stared right into his muddy, brown eyes.

"Well this year, don't count on any smiling. I'll be your superior," he warned with a nasty grin and laugh.

"Get off, Crabbe, you blundering idiot," another ordered, and she looked passed Crabbe to see a pair of stormy, gray eyes piercing into hers.

"See you later, Lovegood, I'm counting on it," the nasty boy sneered before skulking off. Luna smiled at the boy who had helped her. She had never known him, just known of him, Theo Nott. He was another Slytherin boy, and he was a son of a known Death Eater.

"Thank you," she said to him with a nod.

"Yeah," he muttered, running his hand through his short, black locks. Luna turned around and started to slide open the door to her compartment. Though, she thought of him, Theo, and how he had helped her against normal 'Slytherin' decorum. So she turned her head around again just as he was walking away.

"Would you like to join me?" she asked him nervously with a slight tilt of her head.

He turned and faced her, his eyebrows creased. "What?"

"Would you like to join me in the compartment," she repeated.

"Alright," he muttered unexpectedly.

Once again, Luna slid open the compartment door and entered with Theo trudging behind her, who was unsure of what he was doing. Luna took a seat next to the window, listening to the tweeting of the birds flying around, happy, gay and free. At times Luna wished to be a songbird; all of her worries gone, the torture of the world off of her shoulders as she was free to sing her own song.

She looked away from the window and saw Theo sitting uncomfortably across from her, and she figured that as she invited him to sit with her, she should make some attempt at a conversation.

"How was your summer?" she asked.

"My what?" he asked hurriedly, his grey eyes looking back at her.

"Your summer vacation."

"Horrible," he mumbled, his eyes averting away from hers.

"Why?"

Theo did not reply instead he turned to stare out the window, and Luna wondered about him; his life, his family, and his dreams.

"I went to a wedding, it was really lovely, until the Death Eaters came of course," she told him in an attempt to rouse the conversation once more.

Theo chose not to reply as he continued to stare out the window, unsure of why he chose to help the strange Ravenclaw girl with the wide doe eyes.

"Why'd you help me?" she asked him, curiosity teasing her.

"What?"

"I'm just curious, and I can't fathom why you'd help me. Though I can handle myself, it was sweet of you," she informed him.

"Crabbe's annoying as hell," Theo muttered. "You share a dorm room with him for years; you learn to want to kill him."

"No matter how horrible he is, he doesn't deserve to die," Luna lectured, her eyes widening further in slight fear.

"I didn't mean I was actually going to kill him," Theo said with a roll of his eyes and a scoff. "Do you even understand sarcasm?"

Luna was about to speak again when the compartment door slid open once, revealing her two of her best friends, Ginny and Neville.

"Hi Luna!" Ginny greeted, about to walk into the compartment when she noticed Theo. "Oh, I see you already have some company." Nervously, Ginny exchanged a worried glance with Neville, and he gave her a slight nod.

"We'll just be going."

"No stay," Luna pleaded.

"It's alright, really, Luna," Neville told her with a weak smile.

"Alright then." Luna sighed and watched as her friends left the compartment, sliding the door closed behind them.

"Of course," Theo mumbled. "Damn Gryffindors."

"They're my friends!" Luna exclaimed in defense.

"Friends who hate me without reason, at least you're a bit open-minded," he acknowledged.

"I suppose you're right then, Theo," Luna agreed. "But tell me this.'

"What?"

"Why was your summer so terrible?"

Theo glared at her until Luna began speaking again about the wedding and her summer, taking Theo away from the dreadful world.

_Fall_

Days after they had returned to Hogwarts, Luna had tried to garner Theo's attention once more. Theo was stunned that she kept persisting. He attempted to keep himself closed off from her, but there she kept appearing with her large, doe eyes. During their ride together, she had done most of the talking while he listened, and he had enjoyed it. She brought him back to his childhood when his mother would read to him; Luna's voice was enchanting, taking him away from the world for even a fleeting moment, though Theo was far gone from an innocent childhood.

Eventually she had gotten him to talk to her after she had encountered him after his Potions class in the Dungeons. They were no longer allowed to speak to others in the hallways, but Luna came towards him before he could stop her.

He attempted to ignore her, but she was there, speaking to him like in the train ride. He smiled as she spoke without her noticing. She continued this for weeks; her talking and him silent. Though he could admit it was a new camaraderie.

As they walked together silently two months into their friendship, Luna slid her fingers into his slightly swinging hand. He tried to pull back, but let himself succumb to her small grip as she told him of the Thestrals in the Forbidden Forest, inviting her to come with him.

And Theo was hooked.

Before he knew it, he was strolling with the strange girl outside of the school and away from the Carrows. She led him into the forest, guiding him through the tall, majestic trees while the brown leaves fell around them. She was tiny, like a fairy as she skipped in front of him, her hand gripping tightly to his.

He did not know why she liked his company, he was a lost cause. He could admit that he liked her and enjoyed her presence, but he did not understand the girl or why they became friends.

Soon she ducked and led him under a tree branch, pulling him into a small meadow.

"They're over there," she indicated, pointing ahead of her at the skeletal, black horses. He had seen them earlier in the year, pulling the carriages towards the school.

"Yeah, I see them," he told her as she pulled him closer to the creatures.

She halted in her steps and turned towards him, her eyes wide and questioning as she squeezed his hand in hers. "I'm so sorry."

"Why?" he questioned.

"Thestrals can only be seen by people who have seen death," she informed him as she drew them closer to the nearest Thestral. She reached her hand out and stroked its head as it nuzzled against her. "Most people don't like them though, yet I believe they're beautiful."

"Why not?"

"Because they're… different," Luna replied sadly as she fed the Thestral an apple.

"Who did you lose?"

"My mum," she answered. "She was extraordinary, but she loved to experiment. Then one of her spells went terribly wrong when I was nine."

"I'm sorry," Theo murmured.

"It is horrible, and I do get sad about it now and again, but I still have my dad though," she replied.

Theo stared at her as she stroked the Thestral. He wondered how she could remain so calm, so peaceful while he was screaming on the inside.

After a while, knowing that he owed it to Luna to tell her for she told him. Theo muttered, "I lost my mother too."

"How?"

"My dad, he, well he, uh, disapproved," he revealed uncomfortably, running his hand through his hair. He paused, glancing around as Luna waited for him to speak again, yet it was hard for the words to leave his lips."She wanted out, to leave, get away from service to You-Know-Who."

Luna nodded, urging him to continue as her hands took hold of his. He looked down on her tiny fingers clutching his own, making him feel warmer inside, comfortable with this odd girl.

"When my dad found out he was displeased to say the least. I was with her about to leave our manor when my dad came, killed her," he continued.

A swell forming in his throat. That day was the worst to have ever occurred. Before that, he had been selfish and spoiled, but now...

"And he uh, well he, tortured me," he finished, before Luna, he had never told anyone what had happened, not even Blaise or Tracey.

"I'm so sorry, Theo." Luna ceased petting the horse and embraced him in a hug. Theo felt odd in her small arms, her head against his chest. He was unused to this sort of affection, from anyone, especially a girl he barely knew. So he followed proper human decorum and hugged her back, burying his face into her blonde hair. She refused to let go of him, not even when he tried to pry himself away.

"Thanks," he eventually muttered.

"I'm here for you, Theo," she reminded him.

"Thanks," he repeated, unsure of this girl who suddenly appeared in his life, one who did not seem to want to go back.

"I've been through this too, worse and better, and just know that everything has its time and will get better. There are deeper and darker things than you, Theo, just realize that, and everything will be fine. You're not your father."

"You ever think about what life would be like if You-Know-Who didn't come back?" he asked.

"We'd be who we were before. Yet something even darker could befall our way, you know," she answered. "Though I've always believed that even a little light exists in the darkness. For fear is only a verb if you let it be and I will never let it."

"Sounding a bit Gryffindor there, aren't you," Theo joked, finally parting from her embrace.

"I don't think that's bad," she replied with a smile as she stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. He smirked as he continued to pet the Thestral, wondering to himself if he would have even spoken to Luna if he had still been who he was before You-Know-Who; a bigoted, self-righteous prat. Yet after his mother's death he was sick of it all. Life was nowhere near perfect for him, but maybe, just maybe, Luna was his little light.

_Winter_

The air of Christmastime was in the air, and soon most of the school was boarding the train to return home for Christmas vacation, more than normal. Theo chose not to return home, but as Luna invited him over for Christmas dinner he was riding the train with her. His father did not have to know. Theo could no longer deny his strong affection for Luna, the girl who wouldn't leave him be. She had barged into his life, and he was oddly happy for it.

For some reason, he even bought her a present for Christmas. To him, it was not anything special, but at least it was something, and he secretly hoped she had bought something for him in return.

He sat across from her in their compartment once more, nervously clamping his fingers together as Luna talked in her dreamy far-off voice. During the school year she would constantly take him to see the Thestrals, and brought him into the Room of Requirement once with the other Ravenclaws, Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. No one paid him any attention, and he felt uncomfortable there, so he refused to go back after the first time. It made Luna upset, and strangely enough made him sad as well. Though, she still would not leave him alone.

"We'll have to gather some plimpies for my father when we're there, I hope you don't mind, and the nargles won't bother us," Luna told him, and he nodded absentmindedly as his fingers caressed the small present in his pocket.

"Yeah," he said in recognition of her words. Both of them felt the train come to a halt, and Theo hoped that it was not a repeat of the Dementors from third year. He could no longer hear the murmur of chatter throughout the train; Luna was not even talking as she listened, trying to hear what was happening. Then she settled once more in her seat, her doe eyes looking right at him with a look Theo could not comprehend.

"You know, Theo, I've come to really like-," Luna began, but froze in her words once the compartment door slid open, with two Death Eaters standing in its wake.

"Theo?" one of them questioned and his heart raced in his chest, pounding in fear.

"D-dad?" The mask dissipated off of the man's face, revealing the stern face of his frowning father.

"We're taking the girl. _Incarcerous," _his father snarled as rope shot out of his wand, wrapping around Luna's pallid body.

"No!" Theo yelled, pulling his wand out of his pocket as the present fell out of his pocket and onto the ground.

"Enough!" his father yelled. "_Crucio!"_

Theo screamed and was brought instantly in a heap on the ground, panting and gasping as the pain of the curse spread throughout his body which flinched upon the cold ground. The other Death Eater levitated Luna's body, her doe eyes hopeless, letting fear become a verb as the man guided her behind him as he left the compartment with her, _his _Luna, _his _light.

His father finally relinquished the curse as he left with the second Death Eater, leaving Theo to revel in his anguish.

Theo's heart was broken as he stared at the barren ceiling, not caring to stand in the empty compartment.

She was gone, and he clumsily reached for the present, staring blankly at it, the box which contained a charm reminiscent of the Thestrals.

And when he returned to school after Christmas, he was empty once more.

_Spring_

"DUCK!" a voice screamed, and Luna gasped as she saw a bright green light heading in her direction. Immediately she knelt as the unknown man bequeathed, and the bright light hit a Death Eater instead of her. Carefully she stepped around the Death Eater's body and ran away, with one of her allies running behind her.

She dashed around a corner of the castle walls as it was breaking down into dust and rubble; a once beautiful establishment built under four leaders who would have never imagined this day.

As she did she came face to face with a man hidden under a mask and dark robes concealing his figure. Before he had a chance to take aim at her, she already had her wand pulled out.

"Stupefy!" she screeched, and the jinx sent him into the rubble, allowing him to collapse with Hogwarts.

Again, she ran, seeing colors bursting out of the wands around her. It was a stunning sight; the colors of red, green, purple and blue shining among the sky, but she was not to be fooled. For even the most beautiful things could be signs of carnage and destruction.

With a tear slipping out of her eye she turned herself away from it as she ran, casting more of the bewitching lights. And then she slammed into another, knocking the both of them to the ground. Instantly she stood once more, her wand barred out in front of her.

And there he was, Theo, _her_ Theo, his own wand pointing at her heart as he gasped for air. She stared into his angelic, stormy gray eyes with his Slytherin robes billowing out behind him. They did nothing but stare and circle around in synchronized movements, neither one of them daring to cast a spell at the other, for they knew who they once were those many months ago.

She was there for him as she had strangely been enraptured by the quiet Slytherin. The few months they had spent together were amazing in her opinion. She was there for him, and he confided in her in ways that he had never done before. She knew that he needed her, and he was one of her primary focuses during her months of being locked in the dungeons of Malfoy Manor. She had worried for him terribly after seeing him being cruico'd in front of her, his body being flung and his scream piercing through her ears, helpless like a child.

And here he was again in the Spring, her Theo, the boy she grew to even love.

His wand dropped to his side, and he ran towards her, yet her wand was still pointed out and havoc was spiraling behind him. But in an instant his breath was touching her face, and he took her wand hand and lowered it to her side. The gray eyes and the doe eyes stared, unspeaking before he took her face in between his hands and kissed her after months of longing and emptiness.

And she kissed him back, happy to have her light back, happy to be who they were in this less than perfect life.

* * *

_This was for: _

_The Quidditch Competition Forum: Kenmare Kestrals using the prompts, Less than perfect, who we were and "Fear is only a verb if you let it be."-I Do, Andrea Gibson._

_All Sorts of Love Competition: Non-Canon _

_Gemstone Competition: Amethyst_

_HP Potions Competition: Babbling Beverage_


End file.
